(This is the legacy documentation for SDL2, the previous stable version; SDL3 is the current stable version.)

SDL_GetKeyboardState

Get a snapshot of the current state of the keyboard.

Header File

Syntax

const Uint8* SDL_GetKeyboardState(int *numkeys);

Function Parameters

int *

numkeys

if non-NULL, receives the length of the returned array.

Return Value

(const Uint8 *) Returns a pointer to an array of key states.

Remarks

The pointer returned is a pointer to an internal SDL array. It will be valid for the whole lifetime of the application and should not be freed by the caller.

A array element with a value of 1 means that the key is pressed and a value of 0 means that it is not. Indexes into this array are obtained by using SDL_Scancode values.

Use SDL_PumpEvents() to update the state array.

This function gives you the current state after all events have been processed, so if a key or button has been pressed and released before you process events, then the pressed state will never show up in the SDL_GetKeyboardState() calls.

Note: This function doesn't take into account whether shift has been pressed or not.

Version

This function is available since SDL 2.0.0.